Junk is a print publication.

What She Said

“What she said was sad / But then, all the rejection she's had / To pretend to be happy / Could only be idiocy”

How perfectly that Smith’s song illustrated my youth. I had been shooting in the streets for years, both candidly and asking for portraits with no particular grand scheme. But over the last 5 years I came to a realization that many of the women that I was approaching for portraits had something in common. They were me when I was their age, or they were what I wanted to be. Once this became apparent my focus shifted and this project became clear to me. I was drawn to these women for a reason. Young girls today are living in a much different world than I did, but the experience of growing up female is universal no matter what the time. I see my own struggles, disappointments and bravery in these girls. I decided to take these modern portraits and pair them with my own teenage journal entries from the mid to late 80’s. As someone who survived a bumpy transition into adulthood I hope that this look into my teen-aged mindset and dramas along with these modern girls evolving into womanhood will give hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we will all look back and smile at how intensely life felt at that age.